Most of the world’s crops depend on honeybees and wild bees for pollination (授粉), so decline in both managed and wild bee populations raises concerns about food security, the study notes in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological sciences.
“We found that many crops are pollination-limited, meaning crop production would be higher if crop flowers received more pollination. We also found that honeybees and wild bees provided similar amounts of pollination in general,” said senior author Rachael Winfree, a professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Managing habitat for native bee species and stocking more honeybees would raise pollination levels and could increase crop production.
Pollination by wild and managed insects is important for most crops, including those providing basic micronutrients, and is important for food security, the study notes. In the US, the production of crops that depend on pollinators generates more than $50 billion a year. According to recent evidence, European honeybees and some native wild bee spices are in decline.
At 131 farms across the United States and in British Columbia, Canada, scientists collected data on insect pollination of crop of flowers and yields (产量) for apples, highbush blueberries, sweet cherries, tart cherries, almonds, watermelon and pumpkin. Of those, apples, sweet cherries, tart cherries and blueberries showed evidence of being limited by pollination, showing that yields are currently lower than they would be with full pollination. Wild bees and honeybees provided similar amounts of pollination for most crops.
The annual production value of wild pollinations for all seven crops was an estimated $1.5 billion — plus in the US. The value of wild bee pollination for all pollinator-dependent crops would be much greater.
“Our findings showed that the decline of pollinators could translate directly into decreased yields for most of the crops studied,” the study says. The findings suggest that adopting practices that protect wild bees, such as increasing wildflowers and using managed pollinators other than honeybees, is likely to raise yields. Increasing investment in honeybee colonies (群落) is another possible choice.
8. Which of the following will Rachael Winfree agree with?
A.Food security has nothing to do with pollinators. |
B.More pollination leads to higher crop production. |
C.Honeybees will disappear from the earth soon. |
D.Wild beans have better pollination ability than honeybees. |
9. What does the underlined word “generates” in paragraph 3 mean?
A.Wastes. | B.Creates. | C.Spends. | D.Experiences. |
10. How will an apple grower in the US feel when reading this text?
A.Excited. | B.Relieved. | C.Worried. | D.Embarrassed. |
11. What’s the purpose of the text?
A.To present a research finding. | B.To explain how to raise bees. |
C.To present the world’s food problem. | D.To describe the process of pollination. |